Combined energy storage and three-axis attitude control of a gyroscopically actuated AUV

Abstract

This research develops a system to combine energy storage and attitude control functions in control moment gyros (CMGs) for application onboard autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). This is proposed as part of a hybrid energy storage system to allow AUVs to perform their missions with no chemical battery at all. A geometric study of the interactions between the kinetic energy and angular momentum stored in a CMG pyramid is performed. This forms the basis of a control algorithm that allows the energy mechanically stored in the rotation of the CMG flywheels to power the electronics of the robot, whilst simultaneously controlling its three-axis attitude. The proposed system is implemented onboard the CMG actuated AUV dasiaIKURApsila and underwater experiments are performed to demonstrate combined energy storage and three-axis attitude control.